Sunday morning March 20

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.Let your ways be known upon earth,your saving power among the nations.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,to you be praise and glory forever.As a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefyour only Son was lifted upthat he might draw the whole world to himself.May we walk this day in the way of the crossand always be ready to share its weight,declaring your love for all the world.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

According to thy word;Now be thy grace revealed;And with the knowledge of the Lord,Let all the earth be filled.

Confession of sin

Seek the Lord when he can still be found;call him while he is yet near.Let the wicked abandon their waysand the sinful their schemes.Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,we have sinned against you;we have committed evil in your sight.We are sorry and repent.Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,and return the joy of your salvation to usthrough Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all merciescleanse us from our sins,and restore us in his imageto the praise and glory of his name,through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

Bless the Lord,because he has listened to our request for mercy.Therefore our hearts will rejoiceand we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

The Word of God

Psalm 61

Refrain:You are my refuge, God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

God, listen to my cry; pay attention to my prayer!When my heart is weak, I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am because you have been my refuge, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.Please let me live in your tent forever! Please let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings!Because you, God, have heard my promises; you’ve given me the same possession as those who honor your name.Add days to the king’s life! Let his years extend for many generations!Let him be enthroned forever before God! Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!Then I will sing praises to your name forever, and I will do what I promised every single day.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:You are my refuge, God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

Psalm prayer

Risen Christ,as you knew the discipline of sufferingand the victory that brings us salvation,so grant us your presence in our weaknessand a place in your unending kingdomnow and forevermore.

Psalm 62

Refrain:I must find rest in God only, because my hope comes from him!

Only in God do I find rest; my salvation comes from him.Only God is my rock and my salvation— my stronghold!—I won’t be shaken anymore.How long will all of you attack others; how long will you tear them down as if they were leaning walls or broken-down fences?The only desire of this people is to bring others down low; they delight in deception.With their mouths they bless, but inside they are cursing. Oh, I must find rest in God only, because my hope comes from him!Only God is my rock and my salvation— my stronghold!—I will not be shaken.My deliverance and glory depend on God. God is my strong rock. My refuge is in God.All you people: Trust in him at all times! Pour out your hearts before him! God is our refuge! Human beings are nothing but a breath. Human beings are nothing but lies. They don’t even register on a scale; taken all together they are lighter than a breath!Don’t trust in violence; don’t set false hopes in robbery.When wealth bears fruit, don’t set your heart on it.God has spoken one thing— make it two things— that I myself have heard: that strength belongs to God, and faithful love comes from you, my Lord— and that you will repay everyone according to their deeds.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:I must find rest in God only, because my hope comes from him!

Psalm prayer

O God, teach us to seek security,not in money or theft,not in human ambition or malice,not in our own ability or power,but in you, the only God,our rock and our salvation.

Old Testament readingZechariah 9:9-12

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem.The bow used in battle will be cut off; he will speak peace to the nations.His rule will stretch from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.Moreover, by the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.Return to the stronghold, prisoners of hope. Moreover, declare today that I will return double to you.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading1 Corinthians 2:1-12

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I didn’t come preaching God’s secrets to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. My message and my preaching weren’t presented with convincing wise words but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God.

What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being. God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. Who knows a person’s depths except their own spirit that lives in them? In the same way, no one has known the depths of God except God’s Spirit. We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Father, hear our prayer,through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,who in your tender love towards the human race sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christto take upon him our fleshand to suffer death upon the cross:grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,and also be made partakers of his resurrection;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Standing at the foot of the cross,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross,set us free to serve him with joy.Amen.